Just a small amount of nanostrands mixed into a paint or plastic can provide excellent electrostatic discharge protection. Just one half to one percent of nanostrands mixed in a matrix can create ESD levels of conductivity. (See the graph on the Electrical Conductivity page).
In the pictures below, a high voltage discharge is shown. In the photo on the left, the sample is an elastomer impregnated polyester cloth, showing the ability of a 625,000 volt electrostatic discharge to easily penetrate the composite. In the photo on the right, the same elastomer is impregnated into the cloth, except that 4% nanostrands are added to the elastomer. This provides a conductive path to stop the electrostatic discharge.
